ISLAMABAD, July 21: As the Potter mania reached its climax around the world, people of almost all ages in Islamabad hit the book stores on Saturday morning to be amongst the first to secure their copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - the seventh and the last book in the magical series.

There wasn’t a lot of rush at Mr Books or London Book Company or Idris Books in Rawalpindi but long queues were formed intermittently inside Saeed Books in Jinnah Super almost all the day.

The bookstore’s owner Ahmed Saeed had claimed to have imported over 2,000 copies and had made more than 800 advance bookings by Friday night.

Piles after piles of JK Rowling’s book disappeared from shelves as eager hands got hold of the final edition.

Fatima Bilquis, 15, had been waiting for the Deathly Hallows to come out since the last part of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince came out in July last year. She had finished it again last night to get into the magical flow.

“Rowling has done an incredible job with the plot. It’s amazing how every book is linked with the next volume,” Fatima said.

And bewitched Osman Butt, famous director of comedy stage dramas in Islamabad, and some of his crew who had “grown up with Harry Potter” did not sleep the whole night waiting for its launching in the morning.

“A lot of mysteries will be solved in this final book. And all small questions will be answered,” Osman said, adding that the Potter series was a triumph for the author who gave meaning to even little characters in an enchanting and intricate world.

Asfandyar was outside Saeed Books at around 8am. “I have been reading Harry Potter since I was 12-year-old. This book is of particular importance because it’s the end of an era,” he said.

Maryam, 19, who simply loved Harry Potter, said the series was so good that she knew kids who had developed reading habit after reading the boy wizards magical adventures.

Zainab had read the previous six editions over four times. And responding to these feelings a parent expressed, “Its like kids are only reading Harry Potter and nothing else.”

The Harry Potter phenomenon has been more than just reading fairy tales for Shahana, who sat on the stairs with her head bowed because she could not get her copy of the final chapter. “It’s taught me so many lessons. It has taught me to look beyond and inspired me to become a creative writer. I’d advise everyone to read it and I’m going to make sure my kids read it too,” said the true fan.

Tami Kojima, wife of the Japanese ambassador in Islamabad, was also in the queue to buy her copy. “There’s a lot to look forward in this last book in the Potter series. I’m eager to find out who dies and who lives.”

And tempted to start reading the last pages right away was Sanah who took the day off to buy her copy of the magical saga.

There would be no more guessing games. With the final book about the supernatural adventures of the wizard boy, people who had been predicting their own endings for days, weeks and even months, will find out in hours the destinies of some of the characters of the phenomenal series.